Itanagar, Feb 04 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday said all those involved in the alleged land compensation scam linked to the Lada-Sarli stretch of the ambitious Frontier Highway project will be dealt with a strong hand.
Responding to a zero-hour discussion by lone Congress MLA Kumar Waii in the Assembly, the chief minister said bank accounts of several persons involved were under scrutiny.
“Those who have fraudulently taken money in the name of compensation will have to deposit the amount back into the government exchequer. They will not be spared and stringent action will be initiated against them,” Khandu said.
He said the state government had constituted a fact-finding committee on August 30 last year, which submitted its report on November 5.
“Based on the findings, the government suspended five officials and constituted three committees to reverify genuine landowners for the highway stretch being constructed under five packages,” he informed, adding that the re-verification process began on January 14 and reports would be submitted soon.
Admitting that there had been both overestimation and underestimation in land compensation, Khandu said the discrepancies would be rectified.
He also said the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had constituted an inter-ministerial committee to investigate the matter, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had initiated a preliminary probe at its own level.
The chief minister said the 1,840-km Frontier Highway, stretching from Bomdila in West Kameng district to Vijaynagar in Changlang district along the Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar borders, was sanctioned on March 19, 2018, following sustained efforts by the state government.
Of the total length, 586 km will be executed by private agencies, 536 km by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and the remaining 718 km by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), he added.
Khandu said the case had been handed over to the State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which found that compensation paid to affected landowners was on the higher side.
“The ACB has arrested four persons in this connection and seized Rs 11.5 crore from their bank accounts. There are many more people involved in the scam,” he said.
Acknowledging that corruption still persists in the state, the chief minister said it could only be eradicated through collective efforts.
He said the Special Investigation Cell (SIC), constituted in 2005, had arrested 142 officials between 2016 and 2025 after the BJP came to power, compared to about 20 arrests between 2005 and 2015.
“Our vision is to make Arunachal Pradesh corruption-free. We are working as ‘Team Arunachal’ and strengthening the ACB to deal with corruption with iron hands,” he added.
The Lada-Sarli stretch of the highway has remained at the centre of controversy amid allegations of a multi-crore land compensation scam, triggering public outcry and political criticism.
Civil society groups, activists and local landowners have alleged that compensation meant for genuine landowners was diverted through inflated valuations and fraudulent claims, with the total alleged irregularities pegged at around Rs 130 crore for the 125.55-km stretch. PTI UPL UPL MNB
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